Lawyers' dossier passed to the Met details claims of wider involvement of MI5 and MI6 in abuse
Mark Townsend
The Observer, Sunday 5 April 2009
Article history
Scotland Yard is examining allegations that terrorism suspects, including British citizens, were tortured with the complicity of MI5 and MI6 officers. The Metropolitan Police has received detailed evidence relating to the abuse of detainees involving UK intelligence agents, raising the possibility that its criminal inquiry into the alleged mistreatment of Guantánamo detainee Binyam Mohamed could be widened to include more than two dozen torture cases.
A 55-page dossier submitted by lawyers to the Met last week includes claims of UK involvement in 29 cases, including Mohamed's, of mistreatment or torture against British citizens or residents. Each is supported by testimony from victims, dates, locations, and in some cases details of the UK intelligence officers who questioned them.
Last week Vera Baird, the solicitor general, told parliament: "If there are more [cases] they will be looked at with the utmost care, with a view to ensuring that, if there is possible criminality, the police will investigate."
Former shadow home secretary David Davis said: "The police will have no choice but to investigate all these cases."
Compiled over four years by lawyers acting for British monitoring group Cageprisoner, the dossier corroborates claims that Britain was involved in a systematic international torture policy, with one case predating the 11 September attacks, going back as far as 1999. Six countries are named as being complicit with Britain, including Jordan, Egypt and Syria. Four cases relate to Kenya and the most - seven - involve Pakistan.
The claims come days after the Met was summoned by the attorney-general, Lady Scotland, to examine allegations that MI5 colluded in the torture of Mohamed by feeding the CIA questions while he was held in a secret prison. Details of another 28 cases, which Cageprisoner claims are equally compelling, will heighten calls for a judicial inquiry.
A Met source confirmed they were "considering the contents" of the report while they waited for Scotland to forward documentary evidence into Mohamed's case. He said the investigation into Mohamed had yet to start, and it was theoretically possible detectives could examine torture complicity allegations as part of a broader inquiry.
Human rights lawyer Gareth Peirce said the true nature of British involvement was becoming a "burning issue" and it was vital the "state is held properly and publicly to account". She added: "It was they [the British] who provided information that could be and was used in conditions of torture, and it was and is they who have received the product".
A spokesman for Cageprisoner said Scotland would also be asked to investigate alleged MI5 complicity in the questioning of men who claim to have been tortured, the majority while in US custody abroad. It comes as MPs prepare the most comprehensive examination of Britain's role in human rights abuses, focusing on claims of complicity in torture and concern that officials have contravened international law.
Cases in the report include details of UK intelligence officers involved in their questioning, such as their physical description and names. Examples of maltreatment include death threats, ferocious beatings and established torture techniques such as strappado, in which the victims' hands are tied behind their back and they are then suspended in the air by a rope attached to wrists, which typically dislocates both arms.
The earliest case involves Farid Hilali, who claims he was tortured on the "direct orders" of UK intelligence. Wanted in Spain over alleged links to the 9/11 attackers, Hilali said the alleged torture took place while he was held by the intelligence services of the United Arab Emirates and Morocco. His testimony describes a "white British male".
Another involves Tariq Mahmood who was tracked through Saudi Arabia to Pakistan where MI6 allegedly had him picked up by Pakistan's ISI secret service. During his interrogations with MI6, Mahmood claims British agents issued death threats if he did not co-operate.
Martin Mubanga was another allegedly questioned by British agents, including one called Martin, before being rendered for 33 months to Guantánamo, where he was tortured as a result of evidence obtained by UK officials supplying questions. Another named in the report, Shaker Aamer, remains in Guantánamo and is on an eight-week hunger strike.
Peirce described his deterioration as "frightening in the extreme" and believes he could die if he is not released soon. Aamer, 42, alleges that at least one British intelligence officer was present while his head was repeatedly hit against a cell wall during interrogation in 2002 at Bagram air base in Afghanistan.
The UK government strenuously denies using torture or facilitating its use.
Mark Townsend
The Observer, Sunday 5 April 2009
Article history
Scotland Yard is examining allegations that terrorism suspects, including British citizens, were tortured with the complicity of MI5 and MI6 officers. The Metropolitan Police has received detailed evidence relating to the abuse of detainees involving UK intelligence agents, raising the possibility that its criminal inquiry into the alleged mistreatment of Guantánamo detainee Binyam Mohamed could be widened to include more than two dozen torture cases.
A 55-page dossier submitted by lawyers to the Met last week includes claims of UK involvement in 29 cases, including Mohamed's, of mistreatment or torture against British citizens or residents. Each is supported by testimony from victims, dates, locations, and in some cases details of the UK intelligence officers who questioned them.
Last week Vera Baird, the solicitor general, told parliament: "If there are more [cases] they will be looked at with the utmost care, with a view to ensuring that, if there is possible criminality, the police will investigate."
Former shadow home secretary David Davis said: "The police will have no choice but to investigate all these cases."
Compiled over four years by lawyers acting for British monitoring group Cageprisoner, the dossier corroborates claims that Britain was involved in a systematic international torture policy, with one case predating the 11 September attacks, going back as far as 1999. Six countries are named as being complicit with Britain, including Jordan, Egypt and Syria. Four cases relate to Kenya and the most - seven - involve Pakistan.
The claims come days after the Met was summoned by the attorney-general, Lady Scotland, to examine allegations that MI5 colluded in the torture of Mohamed by feeding the CIA questions while he was held in a secret prison. Details of another 28 cases, which Cageprisoner claims are equally compelling, will heighten calls for a judicial inquiry.
A Met source confirmed they were "considering the contents" of the report while they waited for Scotland to forward documentary evidence into Mohamed's case. He said the investigation into Mohamed had yet to start, and it was theoretically possible detectives could examine torture complicity allegations as part of a broader inquiry.
Human rights lawyer Gareth Peirce said the true nature of British involvement was becoming a "burning issue" and it was vital the "state is held properly and publicly to account". She added: "It was they [the British] who provided information that could be and was used in conditions of torture, and it was and is they who have received the product".
A spokesman for Cageprisoner said Scotland would also be asked to investigate alleged MI5 complicity in the questioning of men who claim to have been tortured, the majority while in US custody abroad. It comes as MPs prepare the most comprehensive examination of Britain's role in human rights abuses, focusing on claims of complicity in torture and concern that officials have contravened international law.
Cases in the report include details of UK intelligence officers involved in their questioning, such as their physical description and names. Examples of maltreatment include death threats, ferocious beatings and established torture techniques such as strappado, in which the victims' hands are tied behind their back and they are then suspended in the air by a rope attached to wrists, which typically dislocates both arms.
The earliest case involves Farid Hilali, who claims he was tortured on the "direct orders" of UK intelligence. Wanted in Spain over alleged links to the 9/11 attackers, Hilali said the alleged torture took place while he was held by the intelligence services of the United Arab Emirates and Morocco. His testimony describes a "white British male".
Another involves Tariq Mahmood who was tracked through Saudi Arabia to Pakistan where MI6 allegedly had him picked up by Pakistan's ISI secret service. During his interrogations with MI6, Mahmood claims British agents issued death threats if he did not co-operate.
Martin Mubanga was another allegedly questioned by British agents, including one called Martin, before being rendered for 33 months to Guantánamo, where he was tortured as a result of evidence obtained by UK officials supplying questions. Another named in the report, Shaker Aamer, remains in Guantánamo and is on an eight-week hunger strike.
Peirce described his deterioration as "frightening in the extreme" and believes he could die if he is not released soon. Aamer, 42, alleges that at least one British intelligence officer was present while his head was repeatedly hit against a cell wall during interrogation in 2002 at Bagram air base in Afghanistan.
The UK government strenuously denies using torture or facilitating its use.
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Just another day.
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